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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22946509">Souls Across the Divide</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sana109/pseuds/Sana109'>Sana109</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soul Eater: Insanity’s Finest [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bleach, Soul Eater, Soul Eater: Madness Reawakening</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Author Is Sleep Deprived, Communication Failure, Confusion, Crossover, Don't Examine This Too Closely, F/M, I Don't Even Know, Insanity, Language Barrier, M/M, Magic, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Reality Bending, Self-Indulgent, Some Plot, Spirits, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, might be crack, what</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 10:41:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,462</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22946509</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sana109/pseuds/Sana109</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What do you do when faced with something so foreign yet so familiar? What happens when you find yourself in a place you don’t recognize? Do you try to go back or make the choice to move forward?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans, Sara (Soul Eater: Madness Reawakening)/Asura (Soul Eater)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soul Eater: Insanity’s Finest [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1219044</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is completely self-indulgent.<br/>This is not canon to any series involved.<br/>I just wanted to try something stupid.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The morning began as it always had in the Kurosaki household: with a surprise attack from father to son which resulted, this time, in the older man being thrown out the window by a very annoyed teen. Then went the routine of normalcy, breakfast cooked and served by the youngest of the family as the two men of the house bickered over nonsensical things, the twin of the youngest butting in with a quick jab and dry humor on occasion. Once that business was out of the way, they each began their tasks for the day.</p><p>Kurosaki Ichigo, a young man of 16 years, yawned loudly as he trudged his way back up the stairs, hopefully to get himself reacquainted with his bed and some much needed rest. If there was one thing he hated about his current predicament, it was the god awful hours. Sure, being a part-time Shinigami had its perks, but it’s drawbacks on his human life were immense. He was constantly on alert, waiting for threats that may or may not exist, his sleep schedule was nonexistent, and his school work suffered as a result. He was at least 30% sure he had failed his last math test.</p><p>His restlessness stemmed from his recent excursion to the deserts of Hueco Mundo, the world of hideous beings known as Hollows, creatures made of a collective mass of souls twisted by a bottomless hunger, trying to fill the void left by their original death. It was the duty of the Shinigami, Soul Reapers, to hunt and purify these tortured monsters, return them to the cycle of rebirth, before they could harm the denizens of the living world. Most humans could not see, much less interact with, spirits, thus were often unaware of the possible dangers that lurked around them. </p><p>Back to Ichigo and his current situation. As a substitute-shinigami, he had a terrible habit of ignoring the rules and tradition. Hence his disregard of the Head Captain’s decision to leave Inoue Orihime – a dear friend to Ichigo and formidable ally for her ability to undo injuries of almost any sort, but that was beside the point – in the hands of a traitor. In going after her, Ichigo and a small group of his friends had come against many difficult challenges, nearly dying themselves on multiple occasions. The thought should have made him uneasy, but after staring death in the eyes so many times, it was hard to find such a thing a distressing as it once was. After all, he knew now that if he were to die, he would simply be drawn back into the cycle, likely becoming a shinigami once again.</p><p>
  <i>Don’t be so sure a that, King.</i>
</p><p>And then there was this asshole, this bastard that shared Ichigo’s very soul. Unlike most Shinigami, who only shared their souls with their Zanpaktou, their spirit weapons, Ichigo held within him one of the very creatures they were meant to hunt. There was a handful of former-Shinigami, ones that had been cast out from Soul Society and sentenced to death that now hid in the living world, that existed like him. The Vizards had helped him to get properly acquainted with this piece of himself, not a pleasant experience if you asked him.</p><p>Still, without this hollow that existed as part of him, he definitely would have died when he went to recuse Orihime, so he was at least thankful to him for that. Now that he thought about it, simply referring to his inner demon as just “Hollow” seemed kind of impersonal. Wasn’t it about time to give the thing a name?</p><p><i>Already got a name, ya idiot. I told ya, it’s Zangetsu!</i> the creature shrieked within his mind. Ichigo just rolled his eyes. </p><p><i>Well I can’t call you that or it’ll just get confusing</i>, he responded in kind. <i>If I called you Zangetsu, what would I call the old man?</i> he questioned sarcastically, referring to the third being that lay within his soul.</p><p><i>Fuck if I care!</i> his hollow seethed. <i>He stole my name so he can rot for all I care!</i></p><p><i>I’m just going to call you Shiro</i>, Ichigo responded, ignoring the being that looked like a whitewashed mirror of himself. It was a fitting name. </p><p><i>Ya know what? Fine, I don’ give a shit</i>, the newly dubbed ‘Shiro’ grumbled. </p><p>Before they could continue their mental argument, a loud booming noise echoed out over the town, causing the very ground to tremble. Ichigo blinked in surprise before grabbing his soul badge and ejecting himself from his body. In a flash, he’s out the window and headed towards the source. Looking to the sky, he briefly glimpses what looked like the garganta, a space between worlds that was often used as a path by hollows wishing to gain access to the world of the living, but it looked... wrong. It was too colorful to be the garganta. Well, whatever it was sealed shut before he could figure it out. Ichigo shook his head. Whatever had come through it would have landed in the forest just outside of town. Good, less to worry about if humans weren’t involved.</p><p>About half way there, Ichigo registered the sound of another shunpo. He turned his head slightly and caught sight of both Rukia and Renji. Seems they felt the need to check out whatever it was, too. The three acknowledged one another, slowing their movements to converse a moment.</p><p>“So any idea what that thing in the sky was?” Ichigo asked. Both Rukia and Renji shook their heads.</p><p>“It looked like a gate or a wormhole of some kind,” Rukia answered. “Maybe a new type of pathway the Espada are testing out?”</p><p>“Well if their goal was ta go undetected, I’d say they couldna done a worse job,” Renji added with a dry chuckle. “Could prob’bly feel the quakes fer miles!”</p><p>“I’m not sensing any Espada, so maybe it was a test run?” the female of the group suggested. Her eyes widen as she slows to a halt, Renji coming to a stop beside her. “Ichigo, wait!”</p><p>The teen managed to stop his forward movements, staring at Rukia with a bit of confusion. She starts to say something, but it sounds muffled to his ears, as if he had been submerged in water. His brows furrow, his signature scowl slipping into place.</p><p>“What?” Even his own voice sounds muted. In fact, the only clear sound he could hear was the quiet laughter of his inner hollow. His scowl deepened, trying to focus on the words Rukia was saying, concentrating on following the movements of her mouth. </p><p>Before he could manage to decipher what she was saying, however, the air around him seemed to vanish, causing him to begin to choke and gasp for breath. Everything felt heavy, suffocating, as if the atmosphere was folding in on itself. </p><p>Ichigo’s eyes widen and he had only a moment to brace himself before another thunderous explosion of sound flung him back at the other two Shinigami. The three collide and crash to the forest floor, groaning in varying degrees of pain and discomfort. Renji was the first to recover, rubbing the spot on hit head where it had hit a tree root, wincing slightly at the dull sting. </p><p>“Well that’s diff’rent,” he grumbled, helping Rukia to her feet as Ichigo manages to right himself, looking a bit dazed but otherwise unharmed. Same couldn’t be said for his mane of orange hair, which seemed more haphazardly thrown about now. The teen tries in vain to pat the locks back into some semblance of order.</p><p>“The hell even was that?” Ichigo growled, more annoyed than anything else. </p><p>“Honestly, if your reiatsu sensing ability wasn’t so terrible, you would have noticed it sooner,” the female Shinigami said with a sigh, stepping forward a few paces before coming to a stop at the edge of what looked like a crater, though the ground remained level. She bent down to examine the displaced dirt, running a finger along it. “Seems like whatever came through that gate was able to construct some kind of barrier. It’s not masking any of the energy, so it isn’t for that purpose, as it’s only preventing us from see, and likely hearing, what’s inside.” She closes her eyes, reaching out with her senses. “There are several distinct reiryoku signatures, at least half a dozen, but they don’t feel like hollows. At least, most of them don’t — !”</p><p>A sudden flux of energy caused the air to ripple. Rukia’s violet eyes opened, coming face to face with a pair of mismatched blue eyes and a wide grin. Letting out a startled shriek, the small Shinigami falls back, scrambling for her weapon, the two males behind her already geared for a possible attack. </p><p>The figure that had been revealed when the barrier dropped remained crouched, its eyes doing a general sweep of the three, still grinning, before its gaze locked on the substitute-shinigami. Ichigo blinked in surprise, lowering his blade a little.</p><p>The creature, for it very clearly wasn’t human, stood slowly as it kept eye contact with the teen. It was feminine, though she had a more androgynous look to her, with pale skin and long, ruffled tresses that matched his own in hue, the light of mid-morning setting it ablaze like a fiery halo. The woman, though she didn’t look much older than himself, continued to smile at him as she slowly raised her hands in a form of defensive surrender. Ichigo’s grip on the hilt of his blade tightened as he took note of the creature’s hands. Each finger appeared tipped with a finely curved point, looking like the claws of a predatory animal more than anything. No, the thing was decidedly not human.</p><p>“Who are you and why have you come here?” Rukia’s voice brought Ichigo’s attention back the present. Without blinking, those mismatched cerulean eyes shifted over to the shorter shinigami, the grin slowly fading from pale lips. A brief look of confusion or concentration crossed the being’s face. Rukia repeated her question, ready to summon her shikai at a moment’s notice. After a few agonizingly tense moments, the being spoke. </p><p>“Japan?”</p><p>
  <i>It had been a good morning.</i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don’t know, I’m running a fever and this was stupidly funny to come up with. Added the Crack tag since I don’t plan on making this too serious. I mean Soul Eater is labeled a comedy so I brought the stupid with them</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The trio of shinigami stared at the pale woman as that single word left her mouth. Her voice sounded odd, as if it were trying to form words that it could not recognize. Ichigo blinked in understanding a moment later.</p><p>“Yes,” he said, nodding his head, “you’re in Japan.” At the odd looks his companions gave, he explained, “Clearly, whatever she is wasn’t the one responsible for the rift, or the destination at least. I don’t think she understands everything we’re saying.”</p><p>“So Japanese is not her native tongue,” Rukia concluded with a nod. </p><p>“Well that complicates things, don’t it,” Renji sighed in mild annoyance. </p><p>The substitute-shinigami lowers his weapon slightly, taking a step towards the strange being. A brief tensing of her stance was all the warning he got before she sprung up in the air, gracefully landing on one of the toppled trees nearby. The sudden motion caused the two older shinigami to raise their weapons defensively while the youngest stood still. He took note that while she was barefoot, the rough texture of the bark didn’t seem to bother her. </p><p>“Kurosaki Ichigo,” he spoke clearly, gesturing to himself. The best way to learn how to communicate would be to establish identities. The woman blinked before trying to speak.</p><p>“Kur-ro-sah-key?” she sounded out. “Kurosaki.” A friendly grin spread across her face as she nodded in acknowledgment. Standing up straight upon the fallen log, she swiftly placed an open palm on her chest. “Sa-ra.”</p><p>“Do you know what I’m saying, Sara?” His weapon powered further, a small smile replacing his scowl at the apparent success. “Can you understand Japanese?”</p><p>Her face scrunched in thought. “Some. Haven’t in long.... time?” A nod, “long time.”</p><p>“Oh, she understands but it takes a moment ta figure it out,” Renji affirms, letting Zabimaru rest on his shoulder. “This could get annoyin’.”</p><p>The fiery-haired woman snarls at the red-headed shinigami. “Understand, just not used to speaking Japanese. Will... recall momentarily.”</p><p>“So it has just been a long time since you last spoke the language?” Rukia questioned, receiving a nod. </p><p>“Relearning,” the woman answers, tapping a clawed finger to her skull. “Should not take long. Un...certain? Yes, uncertain of the others.”</p><p>“Others?” Renji tensed, readying his Zanpakuto and glancing around the area.</p><p>With a smirk, the woman turns her head and whistles out a pattern: high, high, low. After a moment, the shadows at the edge of the ruined clearing move, a set of head peering out from behind the trees there. The shinigami blinked. Sara made a motion for the others to come forward, which a pair did cautiously. </p><p>First came a petite blonde girl with pigtails dressed in a dark tailcoat-looking cover and a red pleated skirt, her green eyes shining fiercely with an intelligent gleam. Following her was a olive-skinned albino boy, his red eyes sloped to give him a tired, lazy look. He was dressed in a simple hoodie and jeans, hands in his pockets. Both looked around Ichigo’s age, though the three knew that looks could be deceiving; neither of their souls’ felt entirely human.</p><p>The blonde girl conversed quietly with the albino, coming to stand by Sara. The woman spoke softly to the two, the red eyes of the boy, giving the shinigami trio a once over before flashing them a toothy smirk. Rukia gave a quiet gasp at the sharpened teeth that were revealed. The auburn haired woman snapped her fingers in the boy’s face, drawing his attention back to her. She spoke softly to the pair in what sounded like English. The blonde girl seemed to scoff before shoving her way past Sara, earning a hiss of annoyance from the woman.</p><p>“Maka,” she growled in warning, tugging one of those blonde pigtail. The girl let out an indignant squawk, losing her balance momentarily before righting herself and glaring at those clawed talons tangled with her hair. “Manners.”</p><p>The girl growled what sounded like an insult before being released and turning to face the trio. With a slight bow, she introduced herself in Japanese. “Albarn, Maka. Scythe meister. I’m not sure how we ended up here, but I’m one of the few of my group fluent in your language.” The albino sauntered up to her side. “This is my weapon, Soul Eater.”</p><p>“Evans,” Sara corrected, ruffling the boy’s spiky white hair. “Scythe weapon.”</p><p>“Are you also Shinigami?” Rukia asked. </p><p>“What? No, no!” Maka shook her vigorously. “I’m just a meister, a weapon wielder.”</p><p>“And that on’ there is yer weapon?” Renji raised an eyebrow. “But yer two different souls. How does that make any sense?”</p><p>“Ah!” The sudden outburst from Sara drew all of their attention. “Now I understand what that witch said! We are in a different reality!” She turns back towards the others that still remained hiding in the shadows, beckoning them forward.</p><p>A trio exited first, lead by a fair-skinned, sharply dressed male with angular golden eyes. His black hair was combed straight and proper, three thick white lines crossing the left side of his bangs. Now this boy, he gave off the reiatsu of a shinigami where the others did not. Flanking him were a pair of girls that looked to be dressed as some sort of western cowboys, hats included. The shorter one, seemed amicable and excitable where the taller seemed cautious and apprehensive.</p><p>Behind the two girls came a timid youth with light lavender hair wear in a black robe that looked a lot like a dress. It was difficult to determine their gender, as they had a slim figure and no obvious identifiers. This one seemed to tremble as if it would take no more than a breeze to knock them over, but the energy they gave off was that of overwhelming power. Sara flitted over to this one, seeming to want to reassure or comfort them.</p><p>A moment of waiting seemed to annoy the woman before she called out, “Tsubaki! Come!” Out of the trees came a more shapely girl, her dark hair tied back in a high ponytail. She wore a tan sleeveless shirt that could pass as a dress, a golden star sat atop the right side of her chest. She bent down, panting slightly as if she had just run a marathon. Sara tilted her head with a frown. “Lost him again?”</p><p>“S-Sorry!” the tall girl responded easily in Japanese. “He just wouldn’t sit still and – !”</p><p>“YAHOOOOOOOO!” came a shout from the trees above. Ichigo and his group tensed for an attack. Sara let out a sigh, jumping into the trees with ease to follow the source. Whoever, or whatever it was, was shouting loudly in English about something. Now, Ichigo might not be great at a lot of school subjects, but he at least had a decent grasp on conversational English. What he could make out from the rambling sounded like an over enthusiastic child pretending to be a “great and powerful assassin”, which he highly doubted from the noise level.</p><p>A few seconds and a sound of a quick scuffle later and Sara reappeared, dragging a blue haired teen from the branches by the ear. The shinigami trio tensed again, the youth baring a striking resemblance to a certain Arrancar they had fought not too long ago. The auburn haired woman dumped the boy at the feet of the girl with the star on her chest, dusting her hands off on her faded blue pants.</p><p>“There,” she said triumphantly. “That should be all of them.” She turned back to face the shinigami. “I would like to apologize for startling you. As I said before, I am Sara and this group here is under my care. From what you have provided, I have concluded that we were somehow... separated from our own reality and thrust into yours.”</p><p>The trio stared at the woman and the gaggle of teens that stood around her in disbelief.</p><p>What the fuck.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m tired, but here ya go: the in-universe reasoning for this abomination to exist.</p><p>Some very minor spoilers for Soul Eater: Madness Reawakening. They mostly come towards the end.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was supposed to be an easy assignment. Find the witch and eliminate the threat, easy enough considering their numbers and the fact that the Halfling was to accompany them. There was no indication that hunting this witch would be any different from the previous ones, there shouldn’t have been any issue.</p><p>The plan was simple: storm the witch’s hideout and force her out into the open. From there the group would synchronize and resonate soul frequencies and deliver the fatal blow. Sara had agreed not interfere unless necessary, so the possibility of them being dragged into madness was minimal even with Crona and Ragnarok among them. </p><p>Yet for some reason, the Halfling seemed nervous, which in-and-of itself was unusual. Perhaps she simply wasn’t back up to full power after her last violent magical outburst. Whatever the reason, it mattered little.</p><p>Oh how wrong they had been.</p><p> </p><p>“Kid! On your left!” Maka shouted over the roar of the multitude of howling Kishin eggs that had attempted to swarm them. The young Reaper pivoted in time to avoid a massive axe to his arms, jumping back and firing his weapons at the beast until it backed off. </p><p>“Dammit! Why are there so many?!” he growled in annoyance. “Where the hell are they even coming from?!”</p><p>“Working on it, stripes!” Sara crowed from somewhere amid the growing horde. “I did warn ya about the type of magic this bitch works with, but does anyone ever listen to me? Nooooo, so just deal with it until I can find that damned rift!”</p><p>“Who cares about what type of magic it is!” Black★Star butted in, clearly enjoying going all-out on a bunch of weak goons. “Doesn’t matter, we’re still gonna kick her ass and take her soul!”</p><p>“How dumb are you!” came Ragnarok’s screeching voice as Crona sliced him through another pair of bodies. “Of course it matters what type of magic is being used! Knowing what it is means you can find a way to counter it!”</p><p>“He’s got a point, Black★Star,” Liz chimed in. “If you know what you’re fighting, you can figure out its weakness.”</p><p>“Where even is the witch anyway?” Soul asked, having a bad feeling in his gut. “Can you sense her anywhere, Maka?”</p><p>“No, I can’t sense a witch anywhere nearby,” she shakes her head before whirling her partner in a rapid spinning motion, a few of the Kishin eggs falling victim to his sharpened blade.</p><p>“W-wait, you said there was a r-rift, right?” Crona voiced nervously. If the Halfling were not so in tune with her surrogate child, the sound likely would have gotten loss among the cacophony of noise. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s definitely spacial magic,” she answered, landing to stand next to the swordsman. “If my hypothesis is correct, the bitch is picking up random eggs from a separate location and allowing them to flood the area. That’s why there are so many.”</p><p>“Spacial magic?” Kid spoke with a quizzical tone. “Isn’t that type of magic difficult to control?”</p><p>“Yeah, which is why I’m trying to find the rift, ya idiot!” the auburn haired woman shouted back, her claws tearing through the flesh of another beast as it attempted to attack her from behind. “Having a rift open for too long causes it to become unstable and I have no idea what the ramifications of such a thing could be!”</p><p>“But IIII do~!” came a lilting voice from all around. The group made to gather together, each meister facing a different direction to deal with the mass of corrupted souls that now surrounded them.</p><p>“Show yourself, you coward!” the Reaper shouted, growing absolutely furious at the amount of blood and ichor threatening to splash upon his person. That stuff was impossible to get out once it seeped in.</p><p>“Oh I don’t think so,” the voice came again, ending in a giggle. “I feel rather comfortable right where I am.”</p><p>“You have some nerve sending us on this wild goose chase,” Sara snarled with a grimace. At the confused noises the teens around her made, she clarified, “the bitch ain’t even here. She’s probably thousands of miles away by now. This was just a distraction.” She snorts. “Which begs the question of why. What was the purpose of luring us out here?”</p><p>“To be rid of you, of course,” the witch answered. “Can’t have you meddling in my business any more than you already have.”</p><p>“Then why not just kill us and be done with it?” Maka shouted back, her arms beginning to feel heavy with the start of exhaustion. She was answered with a cruel laugh.</p><p>“Well that would be no fun! If I did that, I wouldn’t be able to test out my new spell!”</p><p>“Ya know, for as smart as you are, pigtails,” Maka gave the Halfling a sideways glare, “ya seem to be lacking in the common sense department.”</p><p>“She hasn’t killed us because she can’t,” Kid said. “She’s either not strong enough or can’t eliminate a large number of opponents at a single time.”</p><p>“Not in the traditional sense, anyway,” the witch confirmed with mild annoyance. “So I’m just going to send you somewhere else, somewhere you won’t be able to get back from so easily. Ta-ta now!”</p><p>An explosion erupted from below the groups feet, sending them all flying high into the air, far to high to come back down alive. </p><p>“Shit,” Sara snarled, rapidly reciting an incantation of her own. Upon finishing, her wavelength shifted and a third eye burst open on her forehead. Maka started wide eyed as the pink fabric of her shirt began to unravel in strips. It seemed that, as the Halfling continuously reiterated, she was indeed a parallel to her Kishin lover.</p><p>The ribbons of pink flared out and away from the woman, each one wrapping around a member of the group and pulling them closer to her.</p><p>“Brace yourselves!” she hollered over the chaos that swirled beneath them. “This is going to be a bumpy ride!”</p><p>Below them, a gaping maw had split the earth open, a deluge of colors and energies spilling from its depths. The teens held tight to one another as they began to plummet towards that seemingly ravenous pit. Someone was screaming, though none of them could be certain which one of them it was.</p><p>And just like that, the world went white.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The sudden shift in air pressure as they exited the portal was enough to take their breath away. As they continued their rapid decent towards the ground, Sara pulled upon her unnatural strength to hoist the group of teens above herself. Her enhanced ligaments and bone structure could take the force of the impact such a height would cause; the others could not.</p><p>As expected, the landing was not as elegant as she would have liked, large plumes of dust and debris clouding the area. The Halfling’s legs trembled and creaked from the stress, but she held fast as she began to lower the group of students. Once each of them were placed safely on the ground, the woman fell to her knees, hands reaching out to catch herself from collapsing completely, heaving breathlessly. Panting, she strained to call the threads of her shirt back into place, struggling to force the eye upon her forehead to close. The process was beyond exhausting. </p><p>“<i>Asura?</i>” Sara reached out with what energy she could spare at the moment. She felt a dull pulse from deep within her soul in response. A sigh of relief. “<i>Love, could you do a spirit count for me? Did everyone make it through?</i>”</p><p><i>Checking</i>, came his whispered reply. Just hearing his voice eased her nerves for the moment. <i>All meisters accounted for.</i></p><p>“<i>And the weapons?</i>”</p><p><i>Forced out of form, but present.</i> A pause. <i>I am not able to get a clear reading on Ragnarok.</i></p><p>“Shit...” And just like that, the nervous pit in her stomach writhed to life once more. With quivering limbs, she manages to sit herself up enough to flop down on her back, the pale gray sky of morning filling her vision. Rolling her head from side to side, she took stock of her students. </p><p>Kid and the pistol sisters seemed a bit shaken, but not much worse for wear. Tsubaki – bless her soul – was tending to her meister, who seemed more out of it than physically damaged. Maka and Soul were already in a heated argument, if the hushed voices and frustrated expressions were anything to go by. Crona had managed to crawl closer to the woman, trembling like a crisp autumn leaf.</p><p>Sara stretched out a shaky hand to her surrogate child, who grasped it firmly and brought it to his pallid cheek. The lilac haired teen seemed to relax a bit at the contact, as if he needed reassurance that she was alright. A soft sigh left the elder of the two as her strength began to return.</p><p>“Crona, are you hurt?” The swordsman shook his head. “What about Ragnarok? His wavelength feels fainter than it normally is.”</p><p>“H-he’s j-j-j-just h-having a b-bit of tr-trouble manifesting,” came the hushed reply, “b-but he’s doing f-fine other than th-that.”</p><p>Sara gave a nod, sitting up and, with Crona’s support, getting to her feet. Once upright, the Halfling began assessing their surroundings. Around them was a forest of green, though seems the impact of the landing had created a decent sized clearing. Trees were toppled, some of the trunks snapped in clean through from the force. The dirt looked a bit displaced but flat. Likely it had been a small hill before their arrival. A scowl pulled across her face briefly.</p><p>Reaching a hand to the small of her back, the auburn haired woman let out a sigh of relief at the comforting weight of her weapon partner, safely melded against her skin. A quick pulse of her soul frequency was answered easily.</p><p>“Alright,” she started, getting the whole group’s attention, “the good news is we all seem to have made it through in one piece.”</p><p>“And the bad news?” Liz frowned, arms crossing her chest.</p><p>“The bad news is I haven’t the slightest clue where we are,” Sara spoke with a grimace. The students let out a collective groan. “But we shouldn’t have to await long to find out.”</p><p>“What’s that supposed to mean?” Black★Star griped.</p><p>“There’s a small group of souls heading this way,” Maka explained, “though, I can’t say for sure what they are. They don’t feel like humans or Kishin eggs.”</p><p>“They feel vaguely like Reapers,” Kid confirms, “but that’s ludicrous. Father, Asura, and I are the only Grim Reapers around now.”</p><p>“Well whatever they are, they’re fast approaching,” Sara huffed, reaching for the power she shared with her lover. Hands moving rapidly as she chanted softly in an ancient tongue, a silvery film began spreading over the area, creating a dome over the majority of the clearing and a few of the surrounding trees on one side. The eye upon her forehead attempted to flicker open, but she forced it shut again. Once the barrier closed, she let her hands fall back to her sides. “Alright, that should at least buy us a bit of time.”</p><p>Now all that was left to do was wait.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first disruption to the barrier happened about 3 minutes later. There was a brief shudder to the air as a trio of powerful souls approached the edge of the clearing. Sara made her way to stand between the oncoming threat and her students as the teens scurried to the other side of the dome, hiding amongst the fallen logs and branches.</p><p>A violent ripple as a young man with hair like fire, dressed in black, equipped with a blade as tall as he, burst through the veil. Well that certainly shouldn’t happen. His companions, a slightly taller man with blood red locks and a much shorter woman with dark hair, both dressed in a similar fashion to the carrot-top with smaller blades of their own, had managed to stop themselves outside the invisible boundary. The young man turned back to look at them, making a sound of confusion.</p><p>Reaching deep within herself, the Halfling drew upon her power once more, the air growing thick and suffocating, as she unleashed a spell that launched the intruder back the way he had come, sending both him and his companions sprawling in a discombobulated tangle of limbs. The ancient woman felt her limbs tremble with exertion. </p><p><i>Careful</i>, came Asura’s whispered warning. <i>You’re pushing yourself too quickly.</i></p><p>“<i>I know, I know</i>,” she answered softly. Already she could feel her protective spells begin to weaken.</p><p>Taking another deep breath to steady herself, she gave her warning whistle – high, low, high – to her students, directing them to stay put. It was a rather new process they had been working on as a group: Sara would assess a situation and signal to the rest whether it would be safe to approach. Of course, some of the teens had elected to ignore her calls at first, since they were used to doing things their way. Overtime, though, they had begun deferring to the elder in circumstances they were unfamiliar with, much to their former de facto leader’s chagrin.</p><p>Watching this trio carefully, the Halfling inched closer to where they were discussing something. One downside to her barricade spells is that sound did not travel well through them, so it was difficult to make out anything they said. Not that she could presently understand the words they spoke, since they appeared to be speaking in a different language. Oh joy.</p><p>The female of the trio was crouched down at the edge of the deteriorating spell, inspecting the dirt there before closing her eyes and saying something to the other two. A grin spread across Sara’s face as she crouched down in front of the other woman. If nothing else, this should at least be a little entertaining.</p><p>As the barrier faded, the dark haired woman’s eyes shot open before she let out a startled yelp and scrambled away from the Halfling. The two men seemed startled as well, readying their stances to attack or defend as necessary. Not an unusual reaction to a person seemingly appearing out of no where. The russet haired woman studied each of them carefully, her eyes stopping on the one that had breached her spell. Through her left eye she could gage the strength of each of their power, the fiery boy with the massive blade having quite an odd looking soul. It felt strange, as if it were continuously building and devouring itself. How curious.</p><p>Slowly righting herself, the Halfling raised her hands to indicate her lack of aggression. The boy’s blade, which had been lowered as she had been studying him, rose up again as a scowl etched its way on to his face. </p><p>
  <i>Oh, right. The claws.</i>
</p><p>The short woman was saying something, but Sara couldn’t place the dialect. How long had it been since she had needed to know another’s tongue she wondered. The speech pattern was definitely Asian in nature, but which one...</p><p>
  <i>Guess we’ll just have to pick one.</i>
</p><p>When the shorter girl spoke again, the Halfling answered with a question of her own.</p><p>“Japan?”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is beyond cringe. It’s so hard to be serious with such a stupid idea, but I tried.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was silence for a moment, tension heavy in the air, before the youngest of the trio made to answer.</p><p>“Yes, you’re in Japan,” he spoke slowly with a nod. The other two gave him a look and he muttered something in response to them.</p><p><i>Interesting. Despite carrying such a large weapon, the young one seems to edge towards diplomacy</i>. While the three strangers talked amongst themselves, the Halfling expanded her soul-sight to encompass a larger area. If these were the only ones that had come to investigate, perhaps there was a chance she’d be able to properly explain the situation without needing to enter combat.</p><p><i>Your reserves are low as is</i>, Asura whispered through their bond. <i>You may not be capable of an all out brawl should this prove faulty.</i></p><p>Before Sara can refute, a sudden movement catches her attention. Centuries of finely tuned flight reflexes send her darting backwards before she can stop her legs from moving. Landing on a fallen trunk, she steadies herself on the balls of her feet, her eyes locked on the orange-haired male in front of her. Distantly, she registers the other two poised for attack in response to her rapid retreat. Time seemed to still for a moment before he spoke again.</p><p>“Kurosaki Ichigo,” he said with a steady voice. Sara blinked a moment. What was that supposed to – oh. It was his name. </p><p>“Kur-ro-sah-key?” she spoke slowly, the foreign syllables twisting across her lips. No, that wasn’t quite right. “Kurosaki.” There, that sounded more natural. She smiles at him and nods. If she recalled correctly, in Eastern culture, one would introduce themselves before asking for another’s name. Straightening her posture, she beats her palm flat across her breastbone, answering his unspoken inquiry with a confident tone. “Sa-ra.”</p><p>In return, he acknowledged her, mirroring her relaxing expression. “Do you understand what I’m saying, Sara? Can you understand Japanese?” He spoke slowly – not to the point of obnoxious – and clearly.</p><p><i>Oh boy, here we go. A little help, love?</i> A calming warmth radiated through her as Asura searched within her memories for a proper response. “Some,” she started, trying to string together a coherent sentence. “Haven’t in long...” good heavens, she probably sounded horrible. What was the proper way to say it again? “...time?” Yes, that sounded acceptable. “Long time.”</p><p>“Oh, she understands but it takes a moment ... figure it out,” the other male jibes, clearly annoyed at the situation. His dialect made it troublesome to translate, but he was obviously displeased at her apparent disability. </p><p>Sara snarls at the man before she can stop herself, “Understand, just... not used to... speaking Japanese.” Where were those memories when she needed them... “Will... recall momentarily.” <i>What’s the holdup?</i></p><p><i>Nearly there</i>, came the hushed reply. <i>I wasn’t aware of how many languages you have stored in here, it’ll take some time to sort through them.</i></p><p>“So it has just been a long time since you last spoke the language?” the short woman with black hair asks, making sure to articulate her speech. The Halfling nods in response.</p><p>“Relearning,” she answers, tapping a clawed finger to her skull. “Should not take long. Un...certain? Yes, uncertain of the others.” <i>Oh shit, I didn’t even think about that. Well, cat’s outta the bag now.</i></p><p>“Others?” the man with hair as red as blood tenses, readying his strange looking sword for combat. So he was the type to hit first ask questions later. How annoying. </p><p>Ignoring him, Sara turns her head and signals for a cautious approach. Unsurprisingly, the pigtailed-blonde former leader of the student group came forward first, head held high in foolish arrogance, her weapon partner trailing almost lazily behind her. The ancient woman can hear them whispering to one another, but doesn’t bother to absorb what they’re saying in the moment as she moves to meet them.</p><p>“Alright,” the Halfling starts quietly, having switched back to english, “from what I’ve gathered of the situation so far, whatever that witch did caused us to end up somewhere in Japan. The three over there,” she gestures to the trio dressed in black, “may not be able to properly communicate in anything other than their native tongue. Maka, I know at least you are able to speak the language so it crucial that you cooperate with me here.”</p><p>The blonde grumbles in annoyance. “So you just want me as a translator? I didn’t sign up for that!”</p><p>“I know, I know,” the auburn haired woman retorts defensively, “none of us ‘signed up’ to be ported halfway cross the world.”</p><p>A quiet gasp from behind her draws her attention away from the stubborn blonde for a moment. Sara narrows her eyes, seeing as Soul had decided he wanted to “play friendly” with the trio. By that, of course, she means that he had given them a razor sharp grin. She snaps her finger in his line of sight, drawing his attention back to her.</p><p>“Soul, I need you to stay focused. We are foreigners here and I do not wish to find out what happens should we make a misstep.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” the albino drawled, putting his hands behind his head. “I get it, I’m not doin’ nothin’ threatening.”</p><p>“Perhaps to those that are familiar with you,” she stresses, “but the reaction they had to just seeing my hands is enough to put me on edge about some of our... abnormalities.”</p><p>“Whatever, let’s just get this over with,” Maka huffs, finally growing agitated enough to push her way past the Halfling. The woman stumbles ever so slightly, voicing a hiss of displeasure at the blonde’s bullheadedness. </p><p>“Maka,” she growls in warning, twisting her claws into one of those golden pigtails, giving it a light but firm tug. The teen lets out an undignified squawk of surprise as she’s forced to stop, losing her balance in the process. After managing to stay upright, the scythe meister glares at the offending digits. After a moment, the woman untangles her fingers. “Manners.”</p><p>“Shove off, you deranged mutt,” came her growling response before she turns to face the other three. Taking a moment to recall the proper speech pattern for Japanese introductions, the blonde bows politely to the darkly dressed group. “Albarn, Maka. Scythe Meister. I’m not sure how we ended up here, but I’m one of the few of my group fluent in your language.” Sensing her partner’s approach, she moves to introduce him as well. “This is my weapon, Soul Eater.”</p><p>“Evans,” Sara snarls before ruffling the boy’s hair almost affectionately. To introduce one by a nickname was improper, not to mention it could cause confusion. “Scythe weapon.”</p><p>“Are you also Shinigami?” the female of the trio asked. Sara had to hold back the urge to laugh, resulting in her amusement coming out as a choked snort. Well, if nothing else, this confirmed why their souls felt a bit off. </p><p><i>How strange</i>, Asura chimed in to her musings. <i>I was not aware of the existence of other Reapers. Death was ment to be the last before he created us</i>.</p><p>“What? No, no!” Maka was sputtering in clear confusion. “I’m just a meister, a weapon wielder.” As if that cleared anything up.</p><p>“And that on’ there is yer weapon?” the red haired one questions, glancing between the pair of teens suspiciously. “But yer two different souls. How does that make any sense?”</p><p><i>Oh, I actually understood all of that</i>, the Halfling realizes, unable to stop the outburst of sound that came with the revelation. “Now I understand what that witch said! We are in a different reality!” She knew she was sharing her thoughts aloud, but couldn’t find it in her to care about that. She gestures for the other teens to come out of hiding, unsurprised that Kid, flanked by his dual pistols, was next to enter the clearing. For once, it was a godsend to have the perfectionist of a Reaper with them. Having a Reaper from their own world would allow for comparison of the two realities. </p><p>What surprised her, though, was the fact that Crona came creeping out next, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Maternal worry edged at the Halfling’s mind, causing her to spring towards the timid teen to comfort him.</p><p>“It’s alright,” she whispered, gently brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “You’re safe. I’m here.” The swordsman visibly relaxes at her touch. “Anything from Ragnarok yet?”</p><p>“H-he’s st-staying inside f-for now,” Crona answers hushedly. “S-something about w-wanting to s-s-surprise the enemy sh-should we have t-to f-f-fight.”</p><p>The woman nods in understanding. For once the demonic blade was thinking ahead, though that was likely due to the exhaustion of trying to keep Crona’s heart steady.</p><p>Another moment passed without any sign of the last pair. Furrowing her brow, Sara calls out to the weapon by name. The older teen runs out a moment later, huffing with a familiar look on her face. That was never a good sign.</p><p> “Lost him again?” Sara already knew the answer, but chose to voice the question in Japanese to see if Tsubaki could pick up on the situation. </p><p>“S-Sorry!” the multi-weapon answered, having instinctively switched to her ancestral tongue. Good, that would make communicating a bit easier. “He just wouldn’t sit still and – !”</p><p>“YAHOOOOOOOO!” Good grief, did that child never run out of energy. “I AM THE GREAT AND POWERFUL BLACK★STAR, THE GREATEST ASSASSIN OF ALL TIME!”</p><p><i>And this is why you still struggle to complete the simplest of missions</i>, Sara chided, hearing a murmur of agreement from her lover. With a heavy sigh, she pushes off the ground and quickly scales the tree closest to her while tuning out the repetitive declarations. Honestly, if the boy weren’t so powerful and in-tune with his weapon and the group, Sara would have demanded he not accompany her on missions for this exact reason. Too loud and boisterous to be of much use during hunts.</p><p>Spotting a shock of blue, the Halfling darts forward, snagging the teen by his collar, “Sometimes I think you’re more trouble than you’re worth.”</p><p>“Hey! Let go, ya jerk!” Black★Star growls, struggling to get out of her grasp. She gives him a firm shake, dangling him in the air.</p><p>“Okay, listen closely, brat,” she snarls, gaining the would-be assassin’s full attention at the language switch. “We don’t have time for your usual antics. We just came out of an inter-dimensional wormhole and I don’t know what sort of effects that will have on our abilities. I need you to please, <i>please</i> be some semblance of proper until I can get a clear understanding of what’s going on. Comprendre?”</p><p>At the boy’s nod, Sara drops him before jumping down herself. He lands rather awkwardly in a bush, but isn’t damaged beyond a few surface wounds. Not trusting him to comply with her request, she simply pulls him up, getting a firm grip on his ear as she drags him out into the clearing. She notes that the three Shinigami tense briefly as she dumps the teen at his weapon’s feet. </p><p>“There,” she says after dusting off her hands. “That should be all of them.” She turns to face Kurosaki’s group. “I would like to apologize for startling you. As I said before, I am called Sara and this group here is under my care. From what you have provided, I have concluded that we were somehow... separated from our own reality and thrust into yours.”</p><p><i>Yeah, because that doesn’t sound completely insane</i>, Asura jibes, causing the woman’s smile to falter a moment. Not that he was wrong. It <i>did</i> sound incredibly stupid on top of being ridiculous. After a long pause of awkward silence, the Halfling claps her hands together.</p><p>“Right then, I don’t know about you guys, but I am <i>starving</i> for something to eat. Who else is hungry?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>For clarification, Sara’s memories are stored in different parts of her soul rather than solely in her mind. Information that is outdated or generally unneeded is compartmentalized to allow for quicker retrieval and comprehension. Since language takes up a large portion of the brain, it makes the most sense that she would put away one that she no longer had use for. She is/has been fluent in nearly 50 different languages and dialects, hence why it would take a while to draw that knowledge back to the surface. As for why Asura has access to it, he is, for the most part, being housed inside Sara’s soul since he is without a body of his own (for now 😉)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don’t feel well but here ya go. The ravings of a madwoman</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So let me get this straight,” Renji addressed the woman, Sara, with suspicion. “You expect us ta believe that, through some sorta cosmic fuckery, the lot of you just <i>magically</i> ended up gettin’ thrown outta yer world and <i>magically</i> fell from a giant hole in the sky? Yeah, I’m not buyin’ it.”</p><p>The auburn haired female tilts her head, a crooked smile on her lips, “Well, whether you believe it or not is besides the point, but yes, that is the gist of the situation.” She gives a soft huff of laughter, taking a step towards the redhead. “I hardly think it matters what I say. If you are Shinigami as you say you are, shouldn’t one look at my soul validate my claim?”</p><p>“Renji, stop it,” Rukia scolds her companion, sheathing her Zanpaktou. “It is obvious from their spiritual pressure that they are not Hollows, so there is no need to jump to conclusions.”</p><p>“Hollow?” the Halfling quirks an eyebrow with intrigue, another grin gracing her features. “I assume that is the term you use for corrupted souls, yes?” The three shinigami stare at her with wide eyes, wondering how she could have drawn such a conclusion from so few word. Her grin widens. “Your silence hints that I’ve guessed correctly.”</p><p>“How’d ya figure that?” Renji asks, his grip on Zambimaru’s hilt tightening.</p><p>“Blah blah blah! What does it matter?!” came a rather squeaky voice from somewhere among the group. “Enough with the yappin’ already! I’m starving!”</p><p>The Shinigami trio watch in shock as the lilac haired teen lets out a soft noise of discomfort and began to tremble before a mass of black springs forth from their back. The mass oozes out and over the child’s head, taking form slowly. It was... odd looking to say the least. It looked something like a doll, nearly completely black with a white X over its face. From its head sprouted a pair of bulbous white eyes, both of which had a black X in the center. Sara lets out a groan of annoyance. </p><p>“Ragnarok, I swear on my sister’s grave,” she growls, stomping over and grabbing the thing by its spherical head, “if you don’t shut the <i>fuck</i> up and hold that tongue of yours, I’m going to feed you nothing but burnt fish scraps for a month.”</p><p>“Umm,” Ichigo starts cautiously, “maybe we should head back to the shop. I’m pretty sure we can get you guys something to eat while you explain your situation better.” Great, now all eyes are on him. The substitute shinigami gulps quietly. “B-besides, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to have to explain it over and over again, right?” He glances at Rukia. “Getabishi can just make a recording of it, right?”</p><p>The short woman dwells on the idea for a moment before nodding. “Yes, having a record of the situation will make it easier to relay the information back to Seireitei.”</p><p>“Ya can’t be serious!” Renji interjects. “For all we know, this could just be another one of that bastard’s schemes to catch us off guard!”</p><p>“Oh so you would rather write out a full length report then?” Rukia retorts, crossing her arms. Renji stumbles over his words for a minute. “Look, the best way to understand what is going on is if we have a solid recollection of the events. Not to mention, if you happen to be right, it would be imperative to have backup.”</p><p>“Excellent conclusion,” Sara jumps in, a wide smile on her face again. “You are right to be cautious of an unknown element. Had the roles been reversed, I would have suggested the same thing.”</p><p>“Then it’s decided,” Ichigo said with a tone of finality. “I’ll call ahead to let them know we’re coming.”</p><p>A quick phone call later and the trio were ready to escort the foreigners back to the Shoten. It took a little while to get the message across to those that didn’t understand Japanese, but not more than a handful of minutes. Once that was dealt with, they began making their way back into town, being careful to avoid being spotted. Not that Ichigo, Renji, or Rukia needed to worry about that, but it was probably for the best to keep quiet about that for now. Oddly enough, for such a large group they were unusually stealthy, at least for a group of children. Aside from the occasional chatter between them, they kept relatively quiet. </p><p>~•~•~•~</p><p>“So how should we do this?” Urahara Kisuke spoke up as he observed the group of strangers crowded around the small table. While there had been food set out on said table, only a handful of those present seemed to be indulging themselves, and by that he meant ravenously scarfing down any possible morsel they could get their hands on. They were making quite a mess. Ah, he’d get Jinta to clean it up later.</p><p>The exiled shinigami cleared his throat to gain their attention. Some of them stared back while others went right back to gorging themselves as if he weren’t even there. The leader of the group, the woman with a bright orange mane and fingers like daggers, swallowed loudly before setting down the half-eaten riceball she had been devouring.</p><p>“Apologies,” she said rather sheepishly. “Where would you like to start?”</p><p>“Well, perhaps we should begin with introductions,” the blonde reasoned. “I am Urahara Kisuke. What might your names be?”</p><p>The woman nodded, “I am Sara, weapon wielder and magic user.” The man looked like he wanted to say something, but when a minute passed and he kept quiet, she continued. “The blonde brat – “</p><p>“Hey!” a quick interjection from said blonde.</p><p>“ – is Maka and whitey mister bitey next to her is Soul.” At the strange look on the man’s face, she waves dismissively. “You can probably just refer to him as Evans to keep things from getting confusing. The two cowgirls over there are Liz and Patty, and between them is – “</p><p>“I can introduce myself, thank you very much,” the sharply dressed boy interrupted.</p><p>“Then by all means, go for it,” Sara retorted before diving back into the riceball she had set aside earlier. The boy cleared his throat.</p><p>“I am Death the Kid, Grim Reaper and son of Lord Death,” he said with an air of superiority.  Kisuke raised an eyebrow as the room went silent. </p><p>“Have you been paying any attention to what’s been said,” Sara all but growled at the teen. The two glare at each other for a moment before the woman lets out a long, drawn out sigh. “You can’t just say shit like that and expect them to understand.”</p><p>“Oh, so you’re saying I should lie about my identity,” he counters.</p><p>“In case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto,” comes her rebuttal, her powerful aura beginning to saturate the air. “There’s this little thing called <i>subtly</i>, maybe you should familiarize yourself with it.”</p><p>The two of them continue to bicker, though they switch to English, as the air becomes thick with their reiatsu. While the rest of the teens don’t seem too bothered by it, both Rukia and Renji seem to tense at the weight of it. Maka lets out an annoyed sigh.</p><p>“Does this happen often?” the exiled shinigami asks curiously.</p><p>“Unfortunately,” the younger blonde grumbles. “It’s... sort of a family dynamic.”</p><p>“Oh?” Now that was interesting. “Is she also related to this ‘Lord Death’ individual?”</p><p>Maka shakes her head in the negative, “No, she’s... involved, with Kid’s brother.”</p><p>“That’s the understatement of the year!” the blue haired boy piped in with a snort of laughter before shoving a dumpling down his gullet. </p><p>“Black★Star...” came the voice of the dark haired girl next to him. “Slow down or you’ll end up choking again...” She gives the older man an apologetic smile. “I am Nakatsukasa Tsubaki and this is my wielder, Black★Star.”</p><p>“Ya keep sayin’ weapon and wielder,” Renji butts in, a scowl on his face and arms cross his chest. “Is that s’posed ta mean somethin’?”</p><p>Sara perks up at the question, her reiatsu rapidly dropping back to bearable levels, as if the question reminded her where they were. “Ah, I guess I should be the one to explain that.” Slowly, she stands up, her hand reaching behind her. From her lower back she pulls out an ornate fang-shaped dagger. Once again, Rukia and Renji tense at her actions. “A Weapon, in the world we come from, is an individual capable of morphing and compressing their bodies into the shapes of, well, weapons.“ The blade in her hand begins to glow. As it grows in size, the light slips from her palm and on to the floor where it takes shape. Once it fades, a rather large grey wolf sits in its place beside the woman. “Wielders, which we call meisters, are those capable of using Weapons.” She pauses for a moment, looking around the room. “Is there a more open space we could go? I would hate to cause any damage during a demonstration.”</p><p>“Ah, yes,” Kisuke answers, his fan flicking open as he gestures for the group to follow him. </p><p>This was turning out to be quite the mystery.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A practice battle is had.</p>
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    <p>For once, Ichigo was glad not to be the oddball. They had all moved into Urahara’s underground training room and, honestly? The foreign teens just seemed to be relieved to be out of such a cramped space. The albino, Soul if he recalled correctly – what a strange name, not that he had any room to judge – was chatting amicably with the cowgirl sisters and the rambunctious blue haired assassin. While Sara zipped around the room, inspecting the area, Maka had gone over to Kid and the two were having a hushed discussion. That left Tsubaki and the timid teen as the only ones seemingly unoccupied. Which reminded him...</p><p>“Hey,” Ichigo approached the lilac haired youth gently. They still seemed to flinch, which brought a scowl to the substitute shinigami’s face. “I don’t think I caught your name.”</p><p>“Well of course you didn’t!” the black figure stretched from the child’s back retorted. “Twinkle toes here hasn’t said a word since we got to this rundown shack!” The teen muttered something, cheeks darkening slightly with embarrassment. Ragnarok let out a dramatic sigh. “Same as always with you.” The tiny mitten shaped hands grabbed at the pale teen’s face, stretching the cheeks wide.</p><p>“Ow! Ow! Ragnarok! Stop it!” the teen whined, trying to swat the offending limbs away. “You always bully me! Ow don’t pull so hard or my face is gonna get stuck like that!”</p><p>Before Ichigo could react, a loud TWACK! echoed through the room. Everyone stared in silence as Maka withdrew the rather thick book she had used to smack Ragnarok and tucked it back into her coat. The black form, after letting out a noise of surprise and glaring at the blonde, seemed to take the hint and retreated back into the lilac-haired teen’s body.</p><p>“You okay?” she asked the youth, who nodded with a slight smile. Maka turned to look at Ichigo. “Sorry about that. Ragnarok can be... a bit much sometimes.”</p><p>“No, don’t worry,” the ginger responded with a shake of his head, “I just wasn’t expecting it.” He gives them both a reassuring smile. “I was just asking about a name is all.”</p><p>“Oh, right,” the blonde answered with a laugh. “Kid kind of derailed the whole introduction thing. Anyway, this is – “</p><p>“Crona!” came Sara’s voice from the other side of the training room. The pale child perked up, glancing over to the older woman who was waving her arms excitedly. The teen responded with a small smile and a wave of their own before the Halfling started running towards them.</p><p><i>How interesting</i>, came the lazy voice of Shiro. <i>She’s fast, faster than a human fer sure.</i></p><p><i>Shut up</i>, Ichigo growled at his inner hollow.</p><p><i>I’m just sayin’, King. She’d be one helluva fight. She prob’ly ain’t even usin’ half the power she’s got</i>.</p><p>Shaking his head, Ichigo refocused on the sharp fingered woman. She appeared very eager to use the training room. The pale teen, Crona, shuffled over to meet her.</p><p>“I was thinking about what was being discussed before we came to this shop,” she started, a grin plastered wide across her face, “and I’d like to ask for your help with a little... demonstration.” The teen looked like they wanted to protest, but Sara simply placed a finger over their lips. “Going off what the red one said, you’re the closest match to this world’s Shinigami since you and your weapon share a body.”</p><p>That caught Urahara’s attention. Flicking open his fan, he watched the two interact, the timid teen seeming reluctant to play along. Sara rolled her eyes, taking the child’s hand and dragging them away from Ichigo and Maka. The older woman let out a sharp whistle to get everyone’s attention.</p><p>“Alright, just so we’re clear,” she began, “this is a <i>demonstration</i>, so you don’t have to worry about anyone getting hurt. Well, I mean, someone will definitely get hurt, but don’t worry too much about it.” She barks out what sounded like a command to her group of students, around half of them beginning to glow in the same manner as her dagger/wolf had done before.</p><p>The native shinigami watched in awe as the glowing bodies altered in shape and size, those that did not glow opening their hands to take hold of these new forms. Maka took hold of Soul’s hand as his body condensed and elongated, her fingers wrapping around the pole of his weapon form as a black and red blade burst forth from one end. She twirled the staff over her shoulder before catching it with both hands as the light faded revealing the weapon to be an odd looking scythe. Rather than the traditional visage of such a weapon, its blade was colored by a pattern of red and black points, giving it the appearance of a sharp-toothed smile, while at the head of the staff sat a pair of large red eyes, one on either side of the blade.</p><p>The next weapon to take shape was Tsubaki, who sat within Black★Star’s hands in the form of Kusarigama, the chain holding her two blades together clinking softly as they settled. Beside the blue haired boy, Death the Kid stood holding a pair of... guns? They didn’t really look like any sort of gun any of the Karakura group had seen before. They were larger than standard pistols and oddly decorated. Not to mention...</p><p><i>Is... is he holding them upside down??</i> Both Ichigo and Renji stared at the boy in confusion before receiving a punch to the shoulder each from Rukia. Refocusing their attention back to the final teen, they watched as, with an outstretched hand, a trail of darkness seemed to ooze from Crona’s skin. As it stretched and straightened, a thin black blade took shape. Towards the sword’s guard, a pair of bloodstained lips formed. The mouth made an odd noise as it grinned ominously.</p><p>By this point, Sara had darted back a few meters, her reiatsu pattern shifting and increase rapidly. Oddly enough, her power seemed to almost mimic that of a Hollow, though no visible changes appeared to manifest. Her grin, however, seemed to grow impossibly wide as her auburn locks seemed to flare out, becoming even more comparable to the mane of a wild beast. And still her power continued to build.</p><p>From around her neck came a red glow, a jagged crystal coming into view that seemed to pulse a power all its own. Ichigo felt his eyes widen at the uncannily familiar weight of its intense aura. The other shinigami in the room also seemed alarmed at the incredibly dark force radiating from the ruby jewel. The power inside of it, for all intents and purposes, felt reminiscent to that of a Vasto Lorde level Hollow. </p><p>Maka was the first to move, charging towards the woman with a battle-cry. As she brought down the heavy blade of her scythe, Sara’s arms flew up, her clawed fingers hissing out a shrill noise as they skittered along the metal, halting its downward descent. The Halfling clicked her tongue in amusement.</p><p>“Always so quick to rush things,” she chided, bracing her weight on the balls of her feet to propel the young meister back by meters. “Honestly, have you learned nothing?”</p><p>“Shaddup, ya old hag!” the blonde teen growled, continuing the pattern of lunging forth and being pushed back, going for a different striking angle each time despite the repeated outcome.</p><p>On the next downward motion, instead of catching the scythe as she had done before, Sara’s body twisted to the side, flowing with the motion and landing a solid kick to the blonde’s gut, sending the girl reeling. “Impatience is a sign of immaturity. To throw one’s self into the unknown will result in injury.” Again her body turned suddenly, her arms coming up in a defensive position as Black★Star had moved to attack her from behind. The shinigami all blinked, not even having seen the boy move. His weapon had changed shape, now in the form of a Ninjatō. Where the two collided, sparks of gold-tinted electricity branched out. “You’re losing your touch, assassin! I could hear you coming from miles away!”</p><p>“As if I was gonna let ya hog the spotlight!” he declared with mirthful glee. “No one’s a bigger star than me!”</p><p>A burst of lightning flared out from their contact, the force of the blast sending both of them back and away from each other. While Black★Star staggered, he stayed relatively upright whereas Sara’s body sprawled across the training grounds, bouncing a few times before she landed in a crouched position. She didn’t have long to catch her balance, as in the next moment she bolted to the side as rapid bursts of energy pelted the spot she had stopped. The exile and shinigami trio watched with muted intrigue as Kid continued to let loose rapid fire projectiles, the energy being similar to that of a cero though much more controlled and much less destructive.</p><p>“Gonna hav’ta try harder than that, junior!” Sara taunted as she dodged the hailstorm of condensed energy pellets.</p><p>The young Reaper grimaced, making to tighten his aim, the bullets flanking both sides of retreating path, forcing it to narrow. Just as it seemed one was about to connect, a flash of light arced in front of the woman as her blade, now in the form of a massive gold and teal scimitar, batted the energy back at the boy. Said boy bent backwards as the shot flew towards him, passing over him, missing him by centimeters. Using the momentum of this maneuver, Kid’s legs kicked up as he flipped himself backwards, landing on his feet with practiced ease, arms straight out to the sides to regain his balance. </p><p>Having recovered from her earlier attempt, Maka once again launched herself at the manic woman, hoping to use Kid’s theatrics as a distraction. What none of the shinigami expected, though, was for the blade of her scythe to clash heavily with Crona’s blackened blade. The resonating clang and ensuing screech of metal against metal as the weapons slid against one another was a rather unpleasant noise against the false wind of the training grounds. </p><p>“Damn it, Crona!” Maka snarled out through gritted teeth. “Get out of the way!”</p><p>“No, you always get too serious when you fight with Sara!” the teen shouted back, trembling as they were, but holding firm. “J-just because you don’t like her doesn’t mean you have to move l-like you want to kill her!”</p><p>“Ha!” the auburn haired woman barked out a laugh. “She is certainly welcome to try! Over eight hundred years and I can count on one hand how many people have come close to succeeding!”</p><p>“No one asked for your opinion, witch!” Maka shouted as she made several more attempts to get past Crona, their weapons clashing repeatedly. </p><p>“<i>Half</i> witch!” the woman retorted as she intercepted Black★Star again, her blade tangling with the chain of his kusarigama and using it to hurl him into the path of Kid’s projectiles. The observing group watched, the younger ones horrified, as the glowing bullets made contact with the blue haired assassin’s body. The energetic boy grunted, being flung aside as Kid continued rapid fire, his shots continuing to be evaded and countered as Sara’s expression grew manic and she began moving towards the young reaper.</p><p>Just as Rukia was making a move to intervene, worried that the blue haired boy had been seriously injured, she was halted by Urahara’s outstretched arm. Looking at the older shinigami in a mix of confusion and horror, she opened her mouth to demand and explanation. </p><p>Fortunately, the blonde beat her to the punch, “We must remember what was said before this battle began.” Before she could protest, he pointed his fan to where the assassin had landed. “Do you see any blood? He does not appear to be physically injured, merely stunned.” The young trio looked again and saw that, in fact, there did not appear to be any wounds. The only blood on his person seemed to be dripping from his mouth. After a few tense seconds, the boy began to move, pushing himself up before muttering something.</p><p>There was the sound of an explosion, the area where Black★Star had been becoming covered in a thick layer of white smoke. When the smoke cleared, the assassin was nowhere to be seen. Ichigo and Renji stared in confusion. </p><p>“Where’d he go?” the red-head questioned allowed. </p><p>“Look!” Rukia whispered, point towards a rapidly moving shadow as it darted across the floor towards the half witch and the reaper. </p><p>Of course, they weren’t the only ones to notice. After managing to push Maka back again, Crona began rushing to intercept the hidden assassin. In their haste, however, they left their back wide open to attack. The pigtailed blonde took the opportunity. </p><p>A rapid downward slice was drawn down the pale teen’s back, black fluid bursting forth from the wound. The observing group watched in amazement as the liquid seemed to solidify mid-motion, creating a twisted mass of branching darkness that sprouted from the wound. Crona let out a sound of pain, swerving back around as Maka moved to repeat the attack from below. Ragnarok’s blade was thrust into the ground, halting the scythe’s movement and causing the blonde to lose her balance at the sudden stop. The two teens faced each other again, getting ready to re-engage with one another, when Black★Star’s voice rang out. </p><p>“<b>SHADOW STAR!</b>” the assassin called out as he emerged from the shadows, his own shooting out and coiling itself around Sara’s blade, forcing it down. The blue haired teen slammed down behind her, his hands sparking with electricity as he prepared to deliver his finishing move. “<b>BLACK★STAR BIG WAVE!</b>”</p><p>He thrust his hand forward, the heel of his palm slamming into Sara’s back. A burst of crackling energy shot out, knocking both Rukia and Renji to their knees at the weight of it. Everyone watched as Sara was thrust forward, a spatter of blood bursting from her lips as she was thrown several meters away, tumbling over the sand until she rolled to a stop.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Crona is referred to as they/them pronouns when the chapter is from the Bleach characters’ perspective since they can’t tell. Crona is called he/him by the Soul Eater characters because that’s how I learned the character. Personally, I feel that Crona is non-binary but is too shy to correct anyone.</p>
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